Arkay Foundation

About Arkay Foundation

Arkay Foundation’s most visible grantmaking centers on strengthening U.S. democratic participation through election integrity, voter mobilization, and civic infrastructure. A single 2023 grant of $245,000 to New Venture Fund supported the Trusted Elections Fund, signaling the scale at which the foundation backs intermediaries that coordinate democracy work. Other large awards in the recent record include $200,000 to Voteorg for its GOTV Radio Program and $100,000 to the Campaign Legal Center for general operating support, alongside funding for Protect Democracy Project and the Center for Common Ground. The foundation’s grants point to a systems-oriented approach rather than a one-project model: it supports legal defense of voting rights, media and radio outreach, and field-based organizing designed to expand participation in elections. Its active grant programs are framed around “Enhancing the Democratic Process” and explicitly emphasize participatory democracy, civic engagement, transparency, and media accuracy. Recent recipients also show attention to rural engagement and to organizations building progressive infrastructure for election work. Although the portfolio is broad within democracy, the recurring thread is support for organizations that shape how people access, trust, and use the democratic process.

What Arkay Foundation Funds

One clear theme is vote turnout and election participation. Arkay Foundation gave $200,000 to Voteorg for the GOTV Radio Program and $62,500 to Voter Participation Center for general operating support, showing support for both communications-based mobilization and broader turnout infrastructure. A second area is legal and policy defense of democratic institutions. In 2024, it awarded $100,000 to Protect Democracy Project for general operating support and $100,000 to Campaign Legal Center for general operating support. Those grants align with its stated focus on voting rights protection, transparency, and participatory democracy. The foundation also funds organizing in specific communities and regions. It gave $50,000 to Carolina Federation Fund for development of its organizing model and separate $50,000 grants to We Are Down Home and Somos Siembra Siembra NC for organizing in working-class North Carolina. In the Southwest, it supported Arizona Center for Empowerment, One Arizona, and the Institute for a Progressive Nevada.

How Arkay Foundation Gives